Toke Signals Stories of the Week

The medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has produced a new 30-second online TV advertisement to launch its groundbreaking, election-cycle voter education campaign “Vote Medical Marijuana.” The ad will also air on this Sunday’s morning cable news programs in Detroit, Philadelphia, South Florida, and Washington State.

The campaign features an interactive online voter’s guide at VoteMedicalMarijuana.org that provides information on political candidate positions as well as voting statistics and a report card for each Member of Congress and certain state elected officials.

“We want to better educate supporters and the general public about casting their ballot for candidates who have their best interests in mind,” said ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. “Our elected representatives in Congress and in state legislatures are making policy decisions on medical marijuana that affect millions of patients in the U.S.”

The Service Employees International Union, United Commercial Food Workers, and D.C. Working Families on Tuesday endorsed Initiative 71, D.C.’s marijuana legalization initiative. Initiative 71, which is on the November 4th ballot, would legalize the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana for adults over the age of 21, and allows individuals to grow up to six plants in their home.

D.C. laws prevent the ballot initiative from addressing the taxation and sale of marijuana, however, the D.C. Council is currently considering a bill which would account for such provisions.

“These major labor endorsements show that the elimination of marijuana prohibition is an issue of significant importance to workers in the District of Columbia,” said Dr. Malik Burnett, D.C. policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). “Initiative 71 would eliminate unfairly harsh punishments for minors offenses, making it less likely that our young people get a lifelong criminal record that makes it harder to get a job, an apartment or credit card.”

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government has thrown its support behind a clinical trial of medical marijuana, with New South Wales Premier Mike Baird revealing that a deal was struck at Friday’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

NSW will lead the collaborative, national trial, with the support of the Commonwealth and other states and territories, reports Simon Thomsen at Business Insider.

The health ministers discussed medicinal cannabis at their meeting, but underlined their continued opposition to the recreational use and legalization of marijuana, claiming it is linked to mental illness.

Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has released a new evidence-informed report on cannabis control. The Cannabis Policy Framework released by CAMH recommends marijuana legalization with a strict regulation approach to cannabis control.

Canada has one of the highest rates of cannabis use in the world, with 40 percent of Canadians having used it at least once in their lifetime. CAMH’s Cannabis Policy Framework was developed to provide evidence-based principles for reducing cannabis-related harm.

To do this, CAMH scientists and policy experts conducted in-depth analysis of the health, social, and legal implications of cannabis use and examined cannabis policy in other jurisdictions.

Nestdrop, a popular Los Angeles alcohol delivery service, is introducing what it calls “the country’s first in-App, on-demand medical marijuana delivery service for both iOS and Android.”

Available today for alcohol deliveries for L.A. area residents, Nestdrop medical marijuana delivery service will launch in the next few weeks in the same app. Medical marijuana patients will be required to upload a photo of their doctor’s recommendation to Nestdrop’s securely encrypted vault to receive approval before ordering.

Unlike other online medical marijuana delivery services, Nestdrop says it is the first to provide an entirely in-app marketplace experience.

“After our initial success with alcohol deliveries, we decided to expand when we saw how this platform could be used to bring difficult-to-obtain products to people who really need them,” said Nestdrop co-founder Michael Pycher. “We began talking to patients and found a genuine need out there for improved access to this medicine.”

It’s not easy being green, at least if you’re trying to remember exactly how much cannabis is in that infused edible product in your hand. Now a New York-based company is making that easier with an all-natural frosting label that goes directly on the product, instead of just on the packaging.

According to CannaBadge CEO and founder Carolyn Sevos, her company invented the edible labels for cannabis cakes, cookies, brownies and cupcakes. The labels are customizable, and can feature logos, warning information, serving suggestions, and even a QR Code.

“Putting a label on the product instead of just on a bag or wrap is the smart and responsible method of meeting child safety and packaging regulations,” Sevos said. “An edible label enhances brand identity and customer loyalty, and protects manufacturers and dispensary owners from potential liability when accidental or over ingestion occurs when a product becomes separated from its packaging.

Federal marijuana prisoner Randy Lanier, 60, a former race car driver, will be released from prison after serving 26 years of a life sentence at the high-security Federal Correction Complex of Coleman in Florida for a 1988 conviction on leading a marijuana drug ring.

U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert has granted a motion by the federal government to reduce Lanier’s life sentence and has approved his pending release, reports Jon Saraceno at Autoweek.com. Earlier this year, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. endorsed a proposal to reduce sentencing for convicted drug dealers, while seeking to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

“He has served his time with dignity and respect,” said Stephen Ross Johnson, lead attorney for Lanier since 2002. “He has helped mentor young people in the prison system.”

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